2007 Avalon - bad wheel bearing, CV joint, or something else?

[spasquino]

I have an 07 Avalon (I bought new) with 154,000 miles on it (drive a ton of highway for work) that I recently replaced the tires on about ten weeks ago. Approximately 2-3 weeks after replacing the tires and getting the car aligned I noticed a very loud noise coming from the front of the car. I can't distinguish exactly but it does seem to be louder on the front drivers side. It makes a "whomp whomp" sound in keeping with the tires spinning and gets progressively louder until around 40 mph at which point it subsides but only slightly. At first I thought it was just the new tires maybe they were noisier. However, the noise has gotten worse and now you can actually feel the "whomp whomp" noise in some vibration in the steering wheel. I have also noticed that it seems to be worse going through curves.

My fiancee is 90% sure he can replace it if we can figure out what's wrong with it exactly we just don't want to pull a bunch of stuff off only for it still to be not fixed. I hate to take it to the dealer becuase they're going to charge me for diagnostics and I have already heard what they'll charge for a wheel bearing if that's it ($750+). Based on internet searches and talking to other people they have it narrowed down to bad wheel bearing or bad cv joint. Is there anything else it could be? Is there a way to rule these out to know if they aren't the problem?

Thanks for any advice you can offer, I have never had to have any major work done just brakes, oil change and spark plugs.

[Mike Murrell]

I would take it back to the people who sold you the tires - assuming the noise surfaced AFTER the tire change.

- Defective tire(s)
- Faulty workmanship by tire dealer

Getting them to own up to it may be an entirely different story.

[gary1949]

Because you experienced the noise shortly after replacing the tires, I'd suggest that you rule them out as being the problem first. It could be a defective tire (belt damage, manufacturing problem). Replace the drivers side wheel/tire with the spare tire and see if the noise stops - if not, replace the passenger side and try it again.

That's a lot easier than tearing into the front driveline.